Research shows consumers feel more positively about and interact more frequently with brands that utilize rewarded advertising

SAN FRANCISCO – June 19, 2014 – Tapjoy, Inc. (www.tapjoy.com), a leader in mobile ad-tech and monetization, today released findings from “The Value of Rewarded Advertising,” a commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Tapjoy. The study, based on a survey of 1,500 US smartphone owners, shows that rewarded advertisements — ads in which consumers are rewarded for their engagement — boost customer sentiment about a brand, increase relevancy, and drive significantly more interactions than “traditional,” automatically served in-app advertisements.

Forrester notes that while the potential for reaching consumers through in-app advertising is high—93% of smartphone owners use apps daily, averaging three hours of captive attention—in-app ads can also damage an advertiser’s brand if done incorrectly. Due to the task-oriented mindset of the mobile consumer and the small screen of their devices, ads on mobile are perceived as more disruptive and less useful than ads on a web page or ads during online videos: 74% of consumers state they find automatically served in-app ads annoying, 69% agree they make it harder to enjoy what they are doing, and 65% describe them as interruptive.

By contrast, 69% of consumers said it is critical that ads don’t disrupt their use of the app, and 67% indicated they wanted to be offered a reward, such as premium content or virtual currency, in exchange for engaging with an ad. Rewarded ads are shown to be more relevant than other types of ads, and the percentage of customers who feel positively toward a brand that provides these types of ads is almost double those that do not.

“Consumers are not only embracing rewarded advertising, they prefer it, and this Forrester survey shows why. Consumers want control over the experience and to be empowered with the choice of which ad to engage with, and the rewarded model accomplishes that while driving stronger brand sentiment,” said Peter Dille, chief marketing office, Tapjoy. “Rewarded in-app advertising takes into account just how personal our mobile devices are and the fact that we’re in a different mindset when we use them. Rewarded advertising respects the consumer’s role in the advertising ecosystem, which is why advertisers that use it are seeing higher brand affinity and deeper engagements than any other type of advertising.”

Other findings from the study include:

Consumers feel positive toward brands that provide content for their apps: The percentage of consumers who feel positive toward brands almost doubles when the brands provide content for the app, sponsor the app, or provide or unlock experiences within the app.

Choice drives relevancy: 49% of consumers say they would like to select between several ad options and pick the ad for the company that they’re most interested in.

Consumers will share information for rewards: 74% of consumers say they will share digital contact information for rewards, and more than half will share basic demographics including gender, age and ethnicity.

In-app rewards, virtual currency most common: Of customers who have chosen or opted in to see a rewarded ad, 77% got a reward that could be used in-app, including 69% who received currency for the game, 31% who unlocked content, and 29% who unlocked a level.

Rewarded ads deliver fewer accidental clicks: Mistaken interactions are less likely to with rewarded ads, as only 10% indicated that they clicked on such ads accidently, compared with 15% among video ads and 22% among static ads.

In this study, Forrester conducted an online survey of 1,500 US adults who own a smartphone to evaluate consumer perceptions and attitudes toward incentivized advertising. Questions provided to the participants asked about mobile app usage, ad recall, mobile ad format preferences, and preferences for interacting with in-app ads. Respondents were offered an incentive as a thank you for time spent on the survey. The study began in February 2014 and was completed in March 2014.